In terms of CV and dress, Pfeiffer fits everything we imagine of a "Parisian woman" or "French style" : she is 34-year-old, Jewish, white, slim and always wears black; She grew up in an English - and French-bilingual middle-class family and lived in Paris and London; She currently works as a journalist in Paris, covering the fashion pages of Les Inrockuptibles, a French cultural weekly. However, she does not recognize this label, published a new book, I am not a Parisian woman, is intended to break the "Parisian woman" myth.

Opinions of France vary around the world, but there is a high degree of consensus about the "Parisian woman" : she never gains weight, never ages, and always remains effortlessly elegant and stylish. French model Ines de la Fressange, supermodel Caroline de Maigret and new Internet celebrity Jeanne Dama are the benchmark of the "Parisian woman". They have published books and started businesses, leading girls around the world to successfully live out the appearance of "Paris women". In the eyes of followers, "Paris woman" is a flower in the water mirror, but in the spokesperson here, "Paris woman" is a marketing tool and a profit model.

So what are we talking about when we talk about "Parisian women"? Or, what else can we talk about when we talk about "Parisian women"? On closer examination, they are all heterosexual, white skin, slender and born in Bourgeois families, which fits and deepens the image of women under the social paradigm; They are the representatives of "good taste", which coincides with the demands of the major fashion houses in Paris, and perhaps invisibly strengthens the existing order of "Paris aesthetic supremacy". In addition, the use of Paris to refer to France reflects the history and status quo of French centralization; To use a small number of "privileged" women to represent the general public in France is to ignore the "others" who have different sexual orientations, different skin colors, different sizes and different social classes.

"Parisian women" are not born, they are made. Pfeiffer said that he is not criticizing the fashion trend of "Parisian woman", but hopes to deconstruct "Parisian woman" through the book "I am not a Parisian woman", and arouse everyone's thinking about the capital logic behind the concept, class and regional discrimination, the rejection of diverse expression and the long-term aesthetic dominance of the Parisian fashion industry.

Halo or hoop?

French writer Jean-Louis Bory said, "The Parisian woman is a legendary creature." Like a unicorn, no one has ever seen her, but everyone knows her."

She is slender, carrying a bamboo basket, holding a baguette, wearing a square silk scarf, and must go out with a beret, showing her fluffy hair, which looks lazy and natural. In addition, she would carry a book in her pocket, written by Sartre, and the book was the size of the pocket, always showing a small corner, which was inadvertently noticed by others. She is stylish and personal, loves freedom, and has no shortage of lovers in her life. In her world, there is no such thing as work, and there are no seasons. If someone asks her, what is the secret of being a "Parisian woman"? "A Parisian woman is an attitude, a state of mind," she would reply in a nonchalant tone.

"Parisian woman" swept the world and became a famous brand in France. Writing for The Post, the British journalist Sarah Rainey said: "French women seem to make us believe that they can always live exceptionally well, regardless of the reality." Dazed China, a media outlet that focuses on youth culture, has also commented on the "Parisian temperament" : "They have a free spirit from the beginning, and advocate unfettered."

Pfeiffer is a Parisian woman, as an object object, there is no lack of personal experience of being stared at; But she is also British, having studied gender studies at the London School of Economics and Political Science, and as subject and observer, she also plays the role of gazing and pondering the social phenomenon of the "Parisian woman".

Bounded by the English Channel, her life is divided into three segments, the first 15 years in Paris, the last 10 in London, and the last 10 years in Paris. Ten years ago, in a tavern in the Gare du Nord in Paris, Pfeiffer's dual identity had experienced a minor struggle.

That day, Pfeiffer took the Eurostar back to France from England. She ordered a large glass of beer, and in the middle of her drink, the clerk asked her mockingly, "You're not going to order any more French fries, are you?" He pointed to his waist and laughed, as if to remind her that's where all the calories went. "In Britain," she writes, "people don't judge a person's 'femininity' based on your chip intake, blood alcohol content and waist size." As soon as she returned to France, she felt an unprecedented lecture on surveillance.

Gabrielle Deydier's 2017 biography On ne nait pas grosse reveals the "fatism" in French society and is featured on the cover of the Guardian's weekend edition.
In fact, the "pressure to look" she experienced is not unique in France. According to a 2013 report by the Institut national d 'etudes demographiques, French women are the thinnest among European countries, even after South Korean and Filipino women in the world rankings. But surprisingly, 60 percent of French women still declare that they want to become thinner and make plans to lose weight. Women everywhere, especially in France and South Korea, are now under pressure to be thin. However, the survey also showed that in terms of body beauty, South Korean society treats men and women equally, while French society is much more tolerant of men.

"Patriarchal oppression is heavy, and women choose to submit to the status quo. The 'Parisian woman' is neither happy nor free. They live in constant anxiety that they don't fit the mold, and they're even happy to bash their peers to control priorities." Pfeiffer explained this in an interview with France's Nouvel obs.

"She person" is hell?

"Parisian woman" has a long history. In 1761, the French enlightenment thinker Rousseau in the book "New Heloise", he used the Swiss hero Saint-Prele's mouth to describe the "free, romantic, rebellious spirit and elegant" Parisian woman. In his opinion: "Fashion dominates the provincial women, but the Parisian women dominate the fashion", "Paris wedding is also different from other places." Two and a half centuries ago, the "Parisian woman" already existed as the antithesis of the "provincial woman."

French first lady Brigitte Macron has attracted a lot of ridicule and criticism for not dressing up as a "Parisian woman". Photo: Elysee Palace website
France's first lady, Brigitte Macron, who hails from the northern French city of Amiens, is the epitome of the "provincial woman." With blonde hair, tan skin, facelift surgery, heavy makeup, and a preference for short skirts and brightly colored clothes, she is in sharp contrast to the "Parisian woman" who pursues "casual nature", attracting much ridicule and criticism. Many people associate her with the "cagole" female figure of southern France. "Cagal" is a French term specifically used to insult women, especially women with blonde hair, tan skin and tacky clothes who live in the southern French city of Marseille. The formation of this stereotype is inseparable from a specific cultural and social soil, but unlike "Parisian woman", "Cagal" is not associated with the overall image of French women.

French historian Emmanuelle Retaillaud explained: "In our imagination, the concepts of the Parisian woman and the French woman are interchangeable. A French woman must be a Parisian woman. Paris is like a substitute word for France, or a shortened version of France." In "I Am Not a Parisian Woman," Pfeiffer also points out that the use of a vague term - "the province" - to refer to France outside Paris reflects, in some ways, the deep problems of a country.

France's unique concept of the republic, negate the ethnic view, pay attention to universal values. Paradoxically, however, there is no universal neutral expression in the use of language, which is closely linked to social development. When French refers to something collectively, neutral is actually replaced by masculine. The same is true of "Parisian women", who often appear to be secular and universal, but in fact only speak for a specific group of women.

The "Woman of Paris" myth reached its peak at the 1900 World's Fair in Paris. At that time, above the entrance of the park stood the sculpture "Parisian woman", a white woman dressed in fine clothes, a cold and distant style, to greet visitors. The costume of the sculpture was designed by Jeanne Paquin, a high fashion designer at the time. This world's fair established Paris as the capital of luxury and lifestyle, and "Parisian women", as a representative of France's "soft power", also attracted everyone to imitate.

But a century later, what women should represent France is hotly debated. In 2013, Flora Coquerele, a French woman of Beninese origin, won the title of Miss France. Her appearance meets the traditional beauty standard of three courts and five eyes, but she has been shamed by many French Internet users because of her skin color. "My mother, a nigger," or "I'm not a racist, but can't the contest be open only to white people?" Such comments abound on the social network Twitter. In their eyes, Cockerill was black, unrepresentative or even unworthy of France. The news was not followed up by local media, but it attracted the attention of foreign media. The American edition of Ruili magazine asked Pfeiffer to analyze the reasons behind it.

Flora Coquerele won the title of "Miss France" but was humiliated by many French Internet users because of her skin color. Image credit: Cocklear Twitter account
This was the first time she wrote a generally politicized report on the negative image of France, and she gradually learned about France's colonial history and class and racial discrimination. The report marked a turning point in her career as a journalist, who had previously written numerous "Parisian women first" articles for the British and American media and now added more social and cultural thinking to her work.

In an interview with French journalist Violaine Schutz, she asked: "Where are the other women in our country? What is unique about their 'de-Paris-centralization'? The presence of actress Deborah Lukumuena (who is black), journalist and activist Rokhaya DIallo (who is black), and anti-fatism activist Gabrielle Deydier (who is black) reflects the fact that in the realm of indigenous cultural politics, There are so many different images of women alive." However, outside France, the image of French women has always been defined and fixed by the "Parisian woman" and has never changed.

Showmanship and capital reality

In 2010, at the age of 53, Ina de la Vlasange published the Parisian Women's Fashion Book, which sold 150,000 copies in France and 1 million worldwide. In 2014, 39-year-old Caroline de McGregor published her English book How to Be a Parisian Woman, which gained a large international audience. In 2017, 25-year-old Jenna Dama published "In Paris", which followed the trend and added a little "feminist" seasoning, telling the relationship between 20 Parisian women and their city, which was reported by many media.

These three most Parisian "Parisian women", without exception, were born into prominent families. Ina de la Vlasange came from an old aristocratic French family; Caroline de McGregor was born into a family of French dignitaries; her maternal grandfather had been a French minister; Ms. Damar, who describes herself as the daughter of a modest restaurateur, was treated to a clientele that included the fashion designer Jean Paul Gaultier, the architect Jean-Michel Wilmotte and the film distributor Marin Karmitz.